BuzzFeed president to step down

5/12/14 1:30 PM EDT

BuzzFeed president and chief operating officer Jon Steinberg will step down and take on an advisory role with the company, according to an internal memo provided by a BuzzFeed spokesperson.

"Jon has decided after four years of being President and COO of BuzzFeed, it's time for him to move on to new ventures and challenges and will be moving into an advisor role at BuzzFeed," Steinberg and founder and CEO Jonah Peretti wrote.

"After four spectacular years at BuzzFeed, Jon has decided it's time to move on but we will miss him a huge amount," they wrote. "I thought you would be interested to know that Jon will joining Lerer Ventures as an advisor so he will very much remain part of the family. He will also be pursuing new challenges in the web and media space."

Steinberg joined BuzzFeed as its 15th staff member in 2010 and was instrumental to its growth. He is also a board member at Shake, a legal app, and a contributor at CNBC.